On March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake occurred off Tohoku Japan, which in turn unleashed a massive tsunami that battered the Japanese coast. The ensuing devastation left thousands dead or homeless, and damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to one of the worst nuclear disasters the world has seen since Chernobyl.

Almost immediately, a steady progression of images of carnage began to spread out to televisions all over the world. We saw the unstoppable wall of water obliterating all in its path, whole towns leveled, houses and ships thrown about like toys in a bathtub, nuclear reactors spewing ominous clouds of smoke, and unthinkable human suffering. Right there before our eyes was nature’s might laid bare in all its terrible splendor for all to look upon with shock and awe.

In the months after this tragic event, the country scrambled to repair the damage and lockdown nuclear reactors that threatened critical meltdown. As the world looked on with horror, a strange pattern of phenomena also began to emerge from the crisis, mostly hidden from the mainstream media eye. Some people were seeing not only the damage wrought by the tsunami, but also something strange that they could not explain.

The days after the Japanese tsunami disaster saw a deluge of various reports of strange, unexplained objects in the skies above the earthquake stricken areas. These reports of unidentified objects understandably caused quite a bit of buzz among UFO enthusiasts, and speculation abounded across the internet of aliens observing or by some estimates even causing the disaster.

However, were these accounts of anomalous flying objects truly caused by aliens, or did they derive from something else entirely? I find myself wondering, could the flood of UFO reports after the tsunami at least in part have its roots in something more cryptozoological in nature? Is there a biological answer to this strange flap of sightings? It seems to me that it is worth considering that perhaps it is not aliens we should be looking at, but rather what has proven to be one of the more bizarre and little discussed types of flying cryptids.

For centuries, reports have surfaced of strange creatures inhabiting the skies above us. Atmospheric beasts, or atmospheric life-forms, as they are often called, are said to be organisms that live their entire lives floating high in the atmosphere undetected by humans. These creatures are most often described as having bodies that are semi-solid, or almost insubstantial, with some reports even claiming that they are able to adjust their density from almost immaterial and invisible to more solid, depending on as yet unknown factors.

The appearance of these atmospheric beasts varies wildly. Accounts have variously described them as amorphous and cloud-like behemoths, finned squid-like creatures, floating jellyfish, translucent, vaporous blobs, amoeba-like organisms, and even dragons. The sizes of atmospheric beasts likewise run the gamut from tiny and bird-like, to gargantuan monsters hundreds of feet long.

Although these enigmatic creatures are said to typically lurk too high in the atmosphere or to be too insubstantial to see with the naked eye, there are instances when one might become observable for some reason. Indeed, sightings of atmospheric beasts, although rare, do pop up from time to time. There has been a substantial amount of reports over the years describing unusual flying monsters that do not fit into the typical mold of thunderbirds or other flying cryptids. These atmospheric life forms have even allegedly been photographed on occasion.

Cloud-like object photographed over Richmond, Virginia.

Strange, dragon-like object allegedly photographed from a plane over Tibet.

Some sort of sky jellyfish.

In addition, the possibility of these denizens of the sky has caused speculation that they may in fact even be the direct cause of many UFO sightings. Large ones, it is hypothesized, could be seen and reported as UFOS. There has even been some conjecture that what appear to be artificial lights reported on some UFOs could in reality be a form of bioluminescence.

The idea of these hypothetical atmospheric life forms as an explanation for at least some UFO reports is not new. The famed cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson himself was fascinated by the idea of giant animals swimming through the air above us, and wrote a good deal about them. Among Sanderson’s various hypotheses and musings concerning atmospheric beasts was the notion that many UFO reports may be in fact attributable to these sky dwelling creatures.

Indeed, when one looks at some of the photos taken of mysterious objects in the sky, it is easy to get a sense that we are perhaps looking at something biological in nature rather than artificial.

UFO author Trevor James Constable also noted in his 1975 book The Cosmic Pulse of Life, that the UFO phenomena may well be caused by the presence of some kind of goliath beasts inhabiting the skies. He further speculated that 20th century radar might disturb such creatures, causing them to become more solid and visible to the naked eye, or to drop down to lower altitudes where they would be more readily sighted.

This bit of speculation leads to the interesting notion that these creatures, if they do indeed exist, may perhaps use some sort of navigation system to maintain their bearings and find their way. This is not such a far out possibility, as many known organisms utilize such systems. If such atmospheric organisms did in fact use some sort of navigation system, then they would possibly become disoriented when this system was disrupted, much as sonar does to some whales. If this is the case, then it would in turn lead us directly back to the tsunami disaster in Japan.

The thing is that earthquakes and tsunamis influence more than just the Earth and the seas. When the powerful earthquake hit Japan on March 11, it not only jolted the Earth, but also shook the skies above. When earthquakes and tsunamis occur, they generate surface motion that in turn can trigger waves that can shoot up all the way to one of the highest parts of the upper atmosphere, to what is known as the ionosphere. These events are known as seismotravelling ionospheric disturbances.

Recent research done in Japan has shown that the March 11 earthquake generated the largest such atmospheric disturbance ever recorded. It was an estimated three times more powerful than the next largest, which was recorded during the 2004 Sumatran earthquake. The March 11 disturbance created waves of large amounts of electrically charged particles travelling 720 to 800 kph (450 to 500 mph) that reached up to around 350km (220 miles) above the Earth.

One effect of these disturbances is their ability to disrupt radio and other signals, which is in fact one of the ways scientists use to measure them. If atmospheric beasts do exist high above us, and if in fact they do use some sort of navigation system that can be disrupted by things such as radar, then what might such a large, earthquake induced atmospheric disturbance do to them?

It should be noted that the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami was not the only such disaster to be accompanied by a rash of sightings of strange things in the sky. The second largest such atmospheric disturbance, the Sumatran earthquake and tsunami of 2004, also was accompanied by a large amount of UFO sightings. Is there the possibility that the earthquake induced atmospheric waves deriving from these disasters are somehow disrupting sensitive navigation systems of some sort of atmospheric life-form and thus bringing them down from their typical habitats?

For now we do not know if these creatures exist, so it is hard to say what is going on. One might even marvel at how something as seemingly farfetched as these proposed atmospheric organisms could even fit into our current understanding of biology. Yet the same could have once been said of other unique organisms and ecosystems we have discovered that did not fit into any known model at the time.

There was a time when the idea of thriving organisms in the cold, black, crushing pressure of the deep sea seemed just as weird. Sulphur loving deep sea vent organisms that thrive in an extreme ecosystem almost completely independent of sunlight and photosynthesis seemed at one time just as outlandish and bizarre. Indeed sometimes truth can be as strange as fiction, if not stranger.

At this point, this is of course all speculation, but whenever I read something about the apparent spike in UFO sightings following the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, I find it interesting to speculate on these possible cryptozoological implications. I cannot help but think that in this case, perhaps we don’t need to look at strange, otherworldly explanations for these phenomena, but rather the strange things that we might find right here on our own planet.

It may be worth looking at the possibility of unknown animals that in this instance lurk not within far away, unexplored forests and swamps, or the remote, murky depths of the lakes and oceans of the world, but rather in the vast skies above our heads right at this very moment.

6 Responses to “Tsunamis and Sky Beasts”

Hey Brent! Just another great post from mystery_man here on Cryptomundo!

I take it your life is returning to normal in Japan after that horrible event? I would be glad to hear that you and your family are doing well. Let us know!

Getting back to your article: I had heard about these sky beasts several years ago. I remember seeing video of the “flying rods” and that is where my interest first peaked on this subject. I did a couple of searches looking for video and found other videos not associated with flying rods but flying beasts. There was one interesting video I found on YouTube about “Space Serpents”. That was really cool and I found a few more after seeing that one.

I am convinced the flying rods are simply insects flying in front of the camera. In fact, one videographer set up a system to prove it and did so! However, I am still baffled about the “Space Serpent” videos. They could well be pieces of man-made material flying high in the sky. But when you view that video, one could argue that it is not an inanimate object but a self propelled life form. Check out those videos if you get a chance. Very interesting stuff!

Thanks for posting on another interesting and forgotten subject. It was a great read!

Yes, I am fine and more or less in one piece (if a little shaken) after the disaster. Thank you for your concern. It is good to see you still on here commenting. I thought perhaps enough time had passed for me to feel comfortable about breaching this topic.

I also tend to look at the flying rod phenomena as being highly attributable to mundane causes such as the insects you mentioned. As you mentioned, there have been efforts made that very convincingly reproduce much of the photographic evidence brought forward for these flying rods. There have been very careful and scientific methods used to get to the bottom of flying rods and a lot has indeed pointed to fairly normal causes.

I am open of course to any evidence which contradicts these quite convincing attempts to debunk the flying rod phenomena, but it remains a case which I view with some skepticism myself.

However whether flying rods specifically are real or not, they remain only one facet of the atmospheric life-form phenomenon as a whole. The fact still remains that the creatures which I have described here are still sighted on occasion, sometimes by multiple witnesses and by persons of good standing. Some aspects of atmospheric organism accounts are still seem to hold some merit, at the very least as a point to give consideration.

This is admittedly an area that involves much speculation and conjecture. However flying rods do not to me represent this phenomenon as a whole, and there appear to be some things left to think over concerning the notion of atmospheric life-forms. It seems to me to be food for thought.

I am trying here to provide something to give some thought to, and hopefully come that much closer to an answer.

Anyway, I am happy you enjoyed this post and thank you for you comments.

It’s an interesting theory. Perhaps one that we’ll have to wait for more advances in technology to be able to ferret it out, but still interesting. The earth has proved that every environment has been inhabited by some form of life…logically it stands to reason that creatures could have evolved that also inhabit the atmosphere. While we have planes in the skies, they’re usually enroute to somewhere and not really into studying as to whether there are any creatures up there.

For the average person, you think of birds, which have to come to roost to the surface, but I find it conceivable that something could adapt that never had to set down…on the other hand, like I said, it may be the kind of thing that we won’t be able to really detect until some advances in technology…or at least new applications.

I’ll check out the “Space serpents” and see what I see–thanks for that too PhotoExpert. For my own self, I enjoy pushing my imagination as well as the boundaries of what’s accepted thought:)

I am pleased Brent to see you and your family have made it through the recent catastrophes and are here back on form with your finely crafted posting.

The subject of some form of biological entities living in the atmosphere has exercised my mind considerably this summer. In the part of the UK I live we have had very little rain and wonderful skys. During the day complex and varied clouds and light effects, in the evening wonderful sunsets with lots of red, yellow and orange caused by plenty of volcanic dust from iceland.

This all leads to more than usual sitting on the patio looking up to the heavens by my wife and I. We have both been impressed by strange and varied shapes which I do not feel all can be adequately explained by convential explanations. Why is the sky not more homogenous? So I have been led to the idea that possibly something else is involved something living something rather different.

Your posting takes things further and takes me on from a stumbling start to consider the nature of the phenomenom. As springheeledjack states life on earth is everywhere on the earth and then why not in the heavens? Then in space all sorts of vaporous or gaseous environments are available in infinite quantities where alternate life forms could evolve with or without DNA. The panspermia effect could apply at least in part and our skys be filled with unknown life forms.

At this point the evidence is as wraithe like as the entities may be, but this could all change if somebody started to look!

The space serpent stuff was very intriguing…not sure what to make of a lot of it. Just too bizarre to wrap my head around. I’m going to go back and look at that stuff again and see if I can come up with anything.

In the mean time, I’m always for keeping an open mind. Thanks Brent.

Oh, and from one of my favorite horror movies of yore…Watch the Skies…

Well the thing about dragons, I heard that whenever dragons fight, storms rage out. Whether or not they create them or are affected by them can`t be made up for right now. But it supports my theory that some creatures are physically on different frequencies than our own. The distortion of the radio signals would be evidence of their existence and yet also the atmospheric disturbances would be out of their lone control. Maybe they could be seen under all of that, but if they fought to try to force one another to maintain the system again, that would make sense too. I understand that even nature has it`s ranks of order.